The Life and Story of Foxface
by imstillarockstar53
Summary: Welcome to District 5! This the story of Marissa, better known as Foxface, from a year before the 74th Hunger Games to her death in the arena. District 5 is full of interesting characters, complex drama, and Marissa finds herself all in the middle of it during the biggest competition of her life - right before she meets the arena, something she never considered happening.
1. Chapter 1

District 5 is a nice place to be, I guess. I've never taken the time to explore it much, nor do I really want to. I walk the same beaten path every day from school to home and back again.

It's five o'clock when I leave school. The tenth year of school has just started in mid-July. I've avoided being reaped for the Hunger Games again last month. I kick a rock off the sidewalk with my shoe. The girl that was reaped I didn't know. She was two grades older than me, eighteen years old, grade twelve. She won't win. Fives never do. My hands get sweaty thinking about it, plus the added height of the summer and the long walk across the district to home. I avoid the topic then. My hands can't be sweaty right now because I have five large textbooks that I'm bringing home with me today. They aren't for homework.

By the time most of the students get to the tenth grade, they have either dropped out of school entirely or rarely show up. Homework is never required and rarely assigned. The classroom remains half empty most days. I'm okay with that. It just means that I always get the front seat. I never used to push or argue for it though, just slunk in the background, unlike the fights the others used to get into. Back in the early days of my schooling, I used to hope they would get reaped for causing such a rift in the daily activities of the school room. Now, I've realized that no one should get that fate pushed onto them.

I'm not even halfway home and the books are starting to wear on my arm. The sign introducing the Victor's Village looms next to me. We have few victors in five. Four, to be exact, and most of them are old or middle aged. I can't remember a victor being brought home.

My aunt will surely be upset for not being at home in time. Or she will not even know I was gone. I have five younger brothers and sisters, not yet school age, meaning that my aunt's hair is turning gray. I'm supposed to be home before dinner, which is normally around six. My parents both have good jobs here in the district. My father is an equipment manager at the wind plant. He makes sure that the windmills are turning correctly, getting the right amount of air, harvesting. He's tried to teach me the ways it works. I don't really care for that though. My mother is the one who I want to follow. She's a system analyst at the solar plant. I've seen the glowing panels, the intensity of her job. This is what I yearn for, why I bring home geometry and chemistry books from school.

I'm passing the town square now. It's mostly gray, except the outside of the mayor's office that was once painted yellow, but is now chipping away. In the middle, a large radiant sun made of metal glows. The sun has a clock in the middle. The metal has rusted over on the tips of the sunburst. For some reason, I hate that sun. I walk a bit faster in order to get out of its sight.

Finally, I've reached the lines of townhouses. In the distance, the three plants loom; nuclear, solar, and wind power. Our houses are far away. This is where the rich live, the people that can afford to pay enough money to be distanced from the possibilities of an explosion. The houses closer to the plants are for the poor. Everyone lives close together, thanks to the small population of the district (it's actually the smallest.) We don't have to get tesserae most often, no one does really.

Instead of opting to continue along the sidewalk, I cut through the tall grasses in the backyards of the first row of townhouses. Mine is the fifth. I enter through the back door. It is the easiest way to sneak up to my room, drop my books off, change my clothing, and head back into the kitchen without being attacked by children. After shaking my black boots off, I head upstairs. The steps and the landing is scattered with toys, pacifiers, and books about a child with a toy rabbit. Thankfully, my small room is right next to the staircase. Actually my 'room' is more like a closet. The bed is lined up against the back wall, a few pieces of random wood are lined up next to it, and underneath that is a plain cardboard box where I drop all the books, both the ones I have to take back to school and the ones I have for myself. To keep, to reread. Exactly five is it, but those five I've determined to keep in pristine condition. All of my clothes, also kept in two cardboard boxes, are behind the door. That is my room, small and often cold, but it is mine. The one place where my younger siblings have not fully taken over. I change my polo shirt, the one that is required to wear at work and therefore school, and into another cheap one, made of thin orange cotton. I tie it in the back with a rubber band because it is almost two sizes too large. It's one of the problems of being thin and short. Nothing seems to fit.

I pull open the closet door and slip quietly through the children's playroom, what was once a regular living space, and into the kitchen. My aunt is manning the large pan over the stove, filled with a plethora of ingredients that vary from night to night. Sometimes it's vegetables, other times it's meat. We don't get much of that though. Animals don't come in this area because of all the heavy machinery, so we have nothing to hunt, and therefore no meat. We normally cook it in some type of broth and make soup out of it.

"Marissa, good to see you finally came home," Aunt Terry says, stirring the soup. Aunt Terry is a regular middle aged woman, without a job or children. She lives with us and my mother, her sister, doesn't make her pay, just take care of us kids. "Can you bring out some bowls, lay them on the table?" I don't respond, but I get out the bowls that we bought in the market. They are uneven and badly painted orange, a couple have chips in them. Aunt Terry sighs when all four of my siblings tumble into the room, each holding a stick they must've gotten from the tree in the backyard.

"Dinner isn't ready yet! Get out of the kitchen!" she shouts, brushing a few loose strands back into her bandanna. I set the table, the bowls and the spoons. Mother and father won't be home for a while, but I keep their place reserved.

My days are exhausting and long. After dinner, I will hole up in my room with my stack of books and terms to memorize. While others may consider me a nerd, I'm just working to my future. As long as the Hunger Games don't get to it first.

**Thank you for reading my newest story! I'm so excited to get into Foxface (or Marissa's) head a little bit more and explore all that District 5 has to offer! Please let me know what you thought by reviewing. **


	2. Chapter 2

After reading all my textbooks until one in the morning, I finally go to bed, falling asleep quickly like I always do. I wake up at six in the morning on the dot, get ready in less than thirty minutes, and head to school. I arrive there an hour early, so I wait outside and hope that it doesn't rain. It rains a lot in 5, which can sometimes catch us randomly.

"Hello, Marissa. Enjoy your reading?" Ms. Manning asks me as she unlocks the door to the school. She's our teacher and has been since we started. Teachers follow the same class through the grades until they all graduate.

"Of course. I actually have a few questions but I'm sure we will discuss them in class," I answer. She holds the door open for me and I collect my stack of books from the bench.

"Probably and if I don't remember, just remind me," she says. I follow her down the hallway to our classroom. No one else gets here as early as I do. Ms. Manning doesn't mind me staying here. I normally just reserve my seat, read more books, and help Ms. Manning if she needs it. Ms. Manning is young to be a teacher. This is her second class she's passed through.

And then, we have the populars.

I'm not too sure how this works out because of the small population, but somehow, someway, this group of girls still exists. They never go to the Hunger Games and I'm sure if they were reaped, someone would volunteer just to save them. People would die for these girls. It's disgusting in a strange way. Let's go through them. All four.

Sophia Mann, the leader of the so-called populars. She's pretty according to most stereotypical values with her straight blonde hair. Not really too smart, but she'll probably get a nice job in the town at a shop until she's old enough to get married. No professional life at all for Sophia.

Savannah Hill is actually a big competition for top in the class. No one would know though because she is so determined to hide that she fails tests on purpose. Brunette. Probably the nicest of them all, but her friends hang around her like hawks, so I wouldn't try to test that theory.

Amelia Carroll should probably have been held back. Unlike Savannah, she has little to no idea about the history of Panem or the English language in general. It's very sad.

Allison Barnett is the one person that I actually like out of the populars. I don't have to compete with her or pity her. It's actually because she used to be my friend. Allison is really funny, the best comedic timing ever, sarcastic and witty all wrapped into one. I guess that's why Sophia decided she would be the perfect person to replace Kennedy when it was revealed that her parents were assistants in the solar power plant and not officials. These are the kinds of things that make people lose friends. Kennedy doesn't come to school much anymore, but not because of that. She died.

Thankfully, they all sit in the back of the classroom, passing their notes back and forth, not caring about the lesson at all. Sometimes they snicker, and you wonder if it's about you. I don't know why anyone would talk about me. They are much more adult than to call me four eyes because of my glasses.

"Are we ready to begin?" Ms. Manning asks from the front of the classroom. It's almost full now, as full as it gets, which is normally four rows of three. We stand up from our desks and do the pledge of allegiance to Panem.

"I pledge my allegiance to the flag of Panem and all twelve districts. We remember the Dark Days, filled with terrible war and plague, and the country that rose out of it. The wrongs that occurred in the rebellion were crushed down by Panem and remain corrected, as we live our lives of prosperity, joy, and abundance. Our reminder of all that is given to us remains told through the Hunger Games and our victors are the people that remind us of the generosity of our glorious government. We appreciate all mercy and forgiveness."

Then we sit back down after spitting out the words we already know by memory. We go through homework, I answer all the questions, and then we start all the lessons, skipping between subjects. From English, to math, to science, then to energy. That's all we learn because that's all we need to learn. The kids that don't want jobs in the energy plants have already taken apprenticeships at the shops by now.

"Marissa and Savannah, can I talk to you for just a minute?" Ms. Manning asks us after class. Savannah's friends all promise they will wait for her outside and we head up to Ms. Manning's desk together.

"Girls, you have both been working very hard this year. At the wind plant, a position has just opened up for an internship with the head of the system analyst. I've been asked to give it to my top student and the both of you have tied. Both of you will be given the same project to work on. They are due in April, which is quite a long way away, but in order to get it, you must start working now. It starts in May," she explains and hands us both a thick packet. I skim over it – we must complete a long paper and a project to present at the front of the class. I've never been strong at presentations, so this worries me. No one says anything else, so we both leave. I've never left school so early. I take only a couple books because I know that I will be reading this packet of instructions all night long.

I go home quickly as soon as I make sure that the populars are at least a block ahead of me at all times. My aunt tries to make conversation with me, but I quickly explain the project and how huge it could be for me, and then close the door to my room, packet in hand.

**Foxface has some big opportunities! To give you a timeline, this is happening in August, the project is due in April, and the reaping is in June. Please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's talk," Sophia says after school. Her backpack is slung over one shoulder, the same side where her ponytail hangs from. Everything about her screams rich. Sophia even makes her voice sound like she's straight from the Capitol. Fear still strikes through me. I just nod as she leads me over to one of the benches. I can't help but look around for the other three girls. They are practically connected at the hip.

"I know about you and Savannah. And I just wanted to let you know that what Savannah's working on is amazing," Sophia says in her breathless way.

"I'm doing something amazing too," I say before I can think. To be honest, I haven't even given any thought about what I'm doing. Too late to go back now, though.

"Oh, really? I'm very excited to see what you bring to the table then. Make sure it's glittery," Sophia giggles. I really want to hit her with my math book right now.

"Sophia!" Amelia calls from the other side of the school. Sophia just ignores her calls.

"I hope that you really give some thought about this project. Savannah really wants this. She's going to work really hard. She even refused getting drinks with us after school. Obviously she deserves it. And you wouldn't want to compete with that, would you?" Sophia says. Amelia pops out from around the corner, right on cue.

"Allison!" Amelia says when she sees Sophia with me. "Sophia, what are you doing _with her_?"

"Nothing, just having a little chat. Let's go," Sophia says, rolling her eyes. It probably looks like I'm the one that dragged her into this conversation. Allison comes tumbling around the corner as Sophia leaves. She heads off with the pack but not before she makes quick eye contact with me. She almost looks sorry.

I leave after they are a good distance away and I can no longer hear their laughs. I try to push Sophia's words out of my mind. This could not possibly be true. I deserve it just as much – probably more – than Savannah does. Now, it just makes me want to prove it. I must make sure that I'm doing this correctly though. It has to perfect, that's for sure.

I get home much quickly and didn't spend any time meddling around, just head straight upstairs to my room. When I open the door, I have to cover my mouth with my hand to avoid screaming too loud.

"I've been waiting for you," Vanessa says. "Where have you been?" Vanessa isn't really a close friend. She dropped out of school a while ago. I guess you could say that she was the bad girl. Paint is splotched on her clothes, maybe on purpose.

"Talk with Sophia," I explain, dropping my stuff. I don't move closer to her though.

"I know about that project. I read your diary," she says. I'm not surprised. This is the first thing Vanessa does in any relationship. For this exact reason, I only keep the information that I want her to know. Absolutely nothing about any crushes.

"Sophia wants me to pull out. She thinks that Savannah deserves it more than I do and it would be useless to try because Savannah also has some kind of amazing, glittery spectacle," I explain.

"Does she?"

"Does she what?"

"Does she actually have an amazing, glittery spectacle?"

"How should I know?"

"It's time to figure that out then," Vanessa says. She grabs her bag from my pillow and pulls open the window.

"What are we doing?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"Going on a spy mission," Vanessa responds as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"This is really dangerous," I say as Vanessa slips out the window in one motion. It was probably how she got in my room.

"And this project is really important. Now, come on," Vanessa says. She waves her hand from the rooftop. Everything in my body is telling me not to do this, I will fall off the rooftop. But yet, I walk over to the small window and manage my way out of it. "That wasn't too bad." Vanessa leads me down the roof to a tree at the back of the house. I hope my brothers' window is closed. We are about to slide right by it. Vanessa hops through the branches like a bird, while I am close to breaking a few.

"You know where Savannah's house is?" Vanessa asks. We decide to take the way in front of the houses, so we step onto the sidewalk.

"No."

"Okay. I do, so we're good. Just don't want to be spying on the wrong house." She walks faster than me, so I have to speed walk to catch up with her.

"Has this happened before?"

"Not according to the Peacekeepers, it hasn't." Vanessa rounds a corner and heads into the next section of houses. Savannah's house, hopefully, is the first one with the purple shutters. It's all one level and longer than it is tall. Vanessa smiles evilly. She drops to her knees as we look through each of the windows.

"Got it," Vanessa says. She points for me to go to the other side of the window, so I step to the other side and peek in. Savannah's room is purple and girly. It also has the same stack of books near the door that I have. Savannah is flipping through the packet, but you can tell she isn't really interested in what the words are saying. There are no signs of her starting the project yet; no open books, no notes, no supplies.

"She lied," I whisper. I might have said it too loud.

Savannah heads over to the window. Vanessa and I duck down, hopefully in time. Savannah draws her sheer white curtains shut.

"I'm pretty sure she didn't see us," Vanessa whispers.

"Yeah, but I did," a voice says from around the side of the house.

**Who could it be? It's definitely going to be a fun character and very important for Foxface! I also really liked writing about Vanessa this chapter and she will most certainly be back. Let me know what you thought of this chapter by reviewing. **


	4. Chapter 4

"Yeah, but I did," he says. I have pretty good hearing and the voice is unmistakable. I would know it anywhere, but at this moment, I hope that for once I'm wrong. Only one person could possibly be worse than Savannah…

"Landon, pleasure seeing you here!" Vanessa says. She blows her cover, jumping over to the other side of the house and practically tackled him with her hug. This leaves me to scour back and forth between the two varying sides. Landon knows someone else was here, but won't place me. What would I be doing with Vanessa, anyway? God, Vanessa does some stupid things.

I decide to take the hard way out, joining Vanessa with Landon.

"Well, it is my house," he shrugs. "And…Melissa?"

"Marissa," I correct him. Of course Landon wouldn't know my name. He's two grades older, a senior, free of reapings for the rest of his life. Landon is also almost perfect, gorgeous, lucky, and not to mention Savannah's stepbrother.

"I'm just going to call you Finch. That name is very unique," he says, referring to my last name. My face is hot with embarrassment. My last name is the worst and I've always wanted to get rid of it. It is also the perfect set up for a plethora of names.

"Marissa," Vanessa growls. From her, it sounds scarier, rougher, and more like a threat.

"Okay then, _Marissa. _Let's chat about what you were doing back here."

"Just spying on Savannah," Vanessa says. It sounds comparable to "taking a walk in the park."

"I've heard about that competition thing. Her friends have been talking about it nonstop, but I don't even think Savannah wants it. They just keep talking about sabotage," Landon tells us.

"Thanks for confirming what we already know," Vanessa whispers, just loud enough for him to hear. I don't know why she's acting like this. She's just given everything up to the brother of the enemy. He appears to be reading my mind though.

"That doesn't mean I support her. She should win the internship fairly." Landon drops the bag he was holding to cross his arms. "You being here actually makes this a lot easier on me."

"Landon! Did you forget where the garbage was?" His mother yells from the side door. I duck farther back into the shadows.

"I'll be there in a minute! I was just distracted by the wind," he yells back. It's silent until the door slams shut again. When I turn around, Vanessa is gone. She just disappeared and left me alone with Landon. Before I have any time to think about my next move, he grabs my elbow and pulls me close to him, stepping back at the same time against the wall. We've stayed in the darkness.

"We only have a few minutes, okay? My mom's probably busy, but we can't take any chances." I nod, slowly, letting him talk.

"I'll help you, as much as I can for as long as I can. Just – please – don't get into anything with them at school. Handle your project, I'll take care of the inside. You deserve this Marissa," he whispers against my ear.

"Thank you, but how will we know what is happening? I probably shouldn't be here anymore," I tell him. I cut myself off from rambling, although I'm already worried that I've already overstepped that line.

Landon's hand, still on my arm, slides its way down my hand. He opens it up, pulls a pen out of his pocket, and writes an address on my arm.

"It's far on the outskirts. No one will know."

"Promise?"

"Promise. See you in two days." He skirts off into the night without a trace. The door shuts behind him before I realize that he forgot his bag. I don't know if he comes back for it though, because I run faster than ever to get back home. When I get back, I'm winded and dragging for breath as I climb up the tree.

The two days go by incredibly slowly, even slower than normal. I never see Landon again because he isn't at school and that is the only place I ever go. Vanessa only comes over for a few minutes on Monday, but her visit is just to get an update on Landon.

When I'm not pondering over my future project that I still yet to have a muse for, I think about Landon. Savannah and Landon look very different, but I guess that's normal for being step-siblings. Landon has deep brown hair that I like to imagine would be soft, brilliant brown eyes, and tan skin, somehow even though we don't have any sun.

I've known Landon for a while, through far away glances and being behind him in the grocery store. His mother got married to Savannah's dad three years ago, and I could always tell that the feelings were tough between the two new siblings. While Landon was still at school, their conversations were always strained and awkward. Landon has a job now at the solar power plants, a basic job maintaining the boards.

Finally, the day arrives when I stop wondering and start acting. I practically jump out of my seat when the teacher dismisses the class ten minutes late (during which I've been rolling my pencil along the spirals on my notebook). I don't say goodbye to anyone, just right out of the building. I wait until everyone is gone even though I desperately want to head in the other direction. Surely, Savannah and her crew are looking for me. When it seems like they've given up, I take off farther away from home and the plants and into the poor village of five.

The rows of houses are depressing a little. I almost step on some little children as they run past me in their dirty clothes. As I pass, faces peek out of windows and stare at me of all ages. I just duck my head, which makes it worse because my bright red hair covers my face even more. It also covers up eyes, which makes me have to side step some questionable things.

Finally, I arrive at the little house on the very edge of town – literally, the backyard is the fence buzzing with electricity. My hand is up to knock at the door when a spark zaps off the wire, making me jump a little. Landon opens the door while I'm distracted and pushes me in.

"We can't let the entire neighborhood know what we are doing," he sighs. I follow him into a little room, probably a bedroom, on the very end of the house. The room has no windows and the furniture is covered in the dust. He sinks into a wood chair with a little faded pink cushion and a plume of dust puffs up.

We hear a crash from the other room, followed by footsteps. Landon makes no move to go after it, so I decide to stay with him and keep my calm.

"The party may commence now!" Vanessa says, strutting into her room like she owns the place. She probably could if she wanted too.

"Okay…let's talk. You obviously know everything about what they are trying to do. Anyway, money is definitely going to be a thing. They've been trying to secretly take a couple bills from their parents, ask for money for a book without actually having a book to need, you know," Landon explains. He leans closer to the both of us, sitting on the floor like school children.

"Do you think that will get the panel?" Vanessa asks. I shrug. "Words, Marissa! Words!"

"Probably not. The bigger the better, I guess."

"You pretty much just told us nothing," Vanessa says under her breath. I hit her with my knee.

"We probably shouldn't have met today. This was stupid," Landon says, standing up. I pull myself together, suddenly filled with desperation. He can't leave. If he's already willing to step out now, how will I ever convince people that I'm better than probable fireworks and narration by Caesar Flickerman?

"Hold on. I think I've got something," I whimper.

"And that is?" Landon asks, turning back to watch me. I glance at Vanessa quickly, who looks like I'm an alien from another planet at my sudden outburst.

"I…I…want to do something with force fields…like in the arena?" I stammer. Landon's eyebrows perk up. I might have just hit something. Vanessa slowly nods.

"I like this. Savannah would never imagine something like that, much less the inner workings of it. Do you really think you can do it?" Landon asks.

"Of course I can," I breathe out slowly, trying to force myself to believe it.

**This story is back! Sorry it's been so long, but I was really focusing on getting Finnick finished (which it is!) Anyway, we've got a love interest for Marissa and the plot is definitely going to get more dramatic in future chapters. I'm back in school now, so updates (hopefully) will be weekly. **

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


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